The Syrian Bride

This is a good movie about a marriage across the ceasefire line between Israeli-controlled Golan Heights and Syria. Family estrangement, conservatism, clash between Israeli and Syrian bureaucratic requirements are all depicted well. I rate the movie 8/10.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

It is a book about magic and magical it is. Quite long but fun to read, Susanna Clarke has come up with a winner for her first novel, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.

والدین کی شادی کی سالگرہ

آج میرے ابو اور امی کی شادی کو 39 سال ہو گئے ہیں۔ شادی کی شالگرہ مبارک ہو امی اور ابو۔

Awards and Carnivals

Go nominate blogs for Brass Cresecent awards. Also, contribute to Carnival of Islam in the West. Include the real-time Carnival of Brass in your blog sidebar and read Muslims in the West blogs together in your feed reader.

Vote Early, Vote Often

Today are the midterm elections. Do vote and vote against the Republicans as they have become arrogant. Also it is good to throw out the governing party once every few elections.

Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now is now a part of the culture. It is a movie about a Colonel gone bad (and mad) in the Vietnam War. Francis Ford Coppola did some great work here. I rate it 8/10.

The First Human

The First Human is a good and readable book about the search for the oldest hominin fossils. It describes the science, the fieldwork as well as the disputes in the field of paleoanthropology.

Happy Birthday Amber

It is my wife Amber’s birthday today. Happy Birthday, Amber.

عید مبارک

کل عید ہے۔ آپ سب کو عید مبارک ہو۔ اور ایک دن تاخیر سے سہی مگر دیوالی بھی مبارک۔

Flowers and Butterflies

Here are some photographs of flowers, mainly orchids, and butterflies from my last visits to Atlanta Botanical Garden and Callaway Gardens in the spring.